To The Brink of Love
by Daelan
Summary: ((REVISED Chapter One Up!)) Predominantly EriolxSyaoran, with other minor pairings. "He’d brushed death, come amazingly close to it, and hadn’t even realised."
1. Chapter Two

To The Brink of Love  
Chapter Two  
  
~*~Tomoyo's POV~*~  
  
I looked out my window just in time to see Shinji arrive. "I'll be right down!" I called to him. He nodded. I hastily  
latched the window shut and sped downstairs to let him in.  
  
"Could we talk about Li?" was how he greeted me. I didn't notice his lack of manners. After all, Sakura had just fainted  
because of Li.  
  
"How's Sakura?" I asked. Shinji had insisted on carrying her himself the last few blocks - he hadn't wanted me to have to  
go past my house and back.  
  
"She's fine," he said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. "Kept muttering she loved me, no matter what... Touya has her in bed, he's  
taking care of her."  
  
"Good." Tomoyo led the way to the sitting room. "Now, about Li-"  
  
She never got to finish, as a scream of anguish echoed around the neighbourhood.  
  
~*~Eriol's POV~*~  
  
I had finally reached him, had finally reached my little wolf, and he was dying.  
  
I bent over him, cradling his body close, weeping.  
  
Two slashes to his wrist. His sword, that great family heirloom, lay beside him, bloodied. His blood ran in rivulets down  
his arm and stained my shirt.  
  
~Slashed wrists. It's not too late, Eriol,~ I told myself firmly. I pulled my shattered self together and began the incantation.  
  
~*~Syaoran's POV~*~  
  
At first, everything was dark. And that was good. I mean, when you kill yourself, when you're dying, things are supposed  
to be dark, right? Although I don't think many people would be able to give conclusive evidence.  
  
But then, things started getting brighter. Unless I was seeing the light of the Pearly Gates, or the fires of Hell, the  
only explanation was that Eriol was bringing me back. Only he had that kind of power.  
  
I opened my eyes and found him bent over me. Tears leaked out of the sides of his closed eyes, tears which I noted with  
astonishment. I never expected anyone to actually cry for me. We were still in the sakura tree, I noted. He hadn't bothered  
to bring me down. Or perhaps he couldn't. The magic he was performing was making our bodies glow, swirling shades of  
green and blue. Our auras mingled, and it was then that I realized what he was doing.  
  
The BAKA! He was giving me his own life energy!  
  
I grabbed his shoulders, snapping him out of the trance. The magic stopped abruptly, and he looked at me wonderingly.  
  
"Enough. You don't have to give me ALL your blasted life," I muttered. Hurt flashed in his eyes, but was quickly replaced  
by relief.  
  
I looked up from massaging my sore wrists. "Why did you have to bring me back, Hiiragizawa? It's not like-" I never got a   
chance to finish my sentence as his lips locked around mine.  
  
For a moment, I felt nothing but shock. I mean, Hiiragizawa was kissing me. Kissing ME. KISSING me. The thought  
should have repulsed me. Not that I'm homophobic. More of... this was supposed to be my sworn enemy! Even though I  
didn't get Sakura, he had been trying to steal her...  
  
No, I realized. He's gay. Why would he try to steal her? Unless... unless he was trying to make you jealous. Attract your  
attention.  
  
My arms moved up hesitantly and clasped around his shoulders. He stiffened in surprise and pulled away. The tears falling  
from his eyes were ones of happiness this time.  
  
"Xiao-Lang?" he whispered in a voice that broke with emotion. I just smiled at him.  
  
This time, I was the one who kissed him.  
  
~*~Next day~*~  
~*~Eriol's POV~*~  
  
I rolled over. Strangely enough, I rolled onto someone.  
  
Everything flooded back to me. Somehow, Xiao-Lang and I had managed to stagger back to his house without looking too  
desperately in love. And once we had gotten back to his empty house - Wei was on a two-day vacation - we had  
collapsed into bed. And we'd fallen straight asleep.  
  
Well, what were you expecting? I was exhausted from draining my life energy like that, and Xiao-Lang HAD just tried to  
kill himself, after all.  
  
I smiled and stroked Xiao-Lang's sleeping face. He stirred slightly, turning to press his face into my chest. I glanced at the  
calendar.  
  
"SHIIITTTT!!!!!"  
  
~*~  
~*~Third person view~*~  
  
Li snapped awake at the loud curse, expecting some form of trouble. Instead, he found Eriol, jumping off the bed.  
  
"Xiao-Lang! We have school today! And we're late!" he screamed. Li's eyes widened and he jumped up as well. "You can  
have one of my uniforms, we're the same size. And I'll get breakfast, you shower. Hurry!"  
  
The boys were ready in record time and flying down the street. If they hurried, they wouldn't be late...  
  
They arrived and were seated just as the bell rang.  
  
"Sure is a coincidence you guys came in at the same time!" Tomoyo said cheerfully. She and Shinji had both decided not to  
hold anything against Li. Sakura was fully aware of and supported their decision. Personally, she wasn't sure there WAS  
anything to hold against Li - since when was loving someone a crime? But if it helped bring them together again...  
  
"And you were almost late!" Shinji continued with a smile. "You didn't spend the night together, I hope?" he winked. "But  
honestly, homosexuals are so unnatural! They shouldn't be allowed..." he sighed. "But whatever. About last night, Li..."  
  
"Forgiven, forgotten. And I'm sorry, too."  
  
"Great." There were handshakes all around, before Terada-sensei interrupted to take attendence.  
  
~*~At Night~*~  
  
"So Shinji's a raging homophobic. Never knew that about him," murmured Li. Eriol wriggled into a more comfortable position  
beside him, not saying anything. "Eriol-koi? What's wrong?"  
  
Eriol closed his eyes. "You know how Sakura very often blindly follows Shinji in things that she's not sure about, and  
Daidouji-san follows Sakura..."  
  
"Hai, Sakura's her best friend."  
  
"Well, it all comes down to Shinji leading them. We ought to tell them about us. Demo... after what he said today..."  
Eriol's voice trailed off.  
  
"You don't think we should," stated Li. Eriol shivered in his arms. "It's all right, koi, I'm not angry. I think you're  
right. Their friendship means a lot to both of us, even if Shinji doesn't know about the cards."  
  
"Hai." Eriol smiled up at him. "I'm glad you understand, Xiao-Lang."  
  
Li closed his eyes as a delicious thrill ran up his spine when Eriol spoke his given name. "Aishiteru, koi," he whispered,  
just before they both drifted off to sleep.  
  
~*~Three Days Later~*~  
  
"Hey, guys!" Tomoyo greeted them brightly. "You'll never guess what news I have!"  
  
"What is it, Tomoyo?" asked Shinji, looking up from his sushi.  
  
"Well, I've set up our resident bachelors," she said, indicating Eriol and Li with a wave of her hand, "on a blind date!"  
  
Twin screams of horror echoed through the courtyard. 


	2. Chapter One

_Disclaimer: Cardcaptor Sakura and all related products, characters, etc. do not belong to me. Not exactly sure who they belong to, but if they were mine, why do you think I'm writing fanfiction?_

A/N: **THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ THIS!!!!** Hopefully, that got your attention. Now then – this story has actually been posted up before. The previous version was amateurish and poorly written. The plot was non-existent at first, and when I started coming up with a plot it was trite and clichéd. This story was put on the back-burner for a while, as I lost inspiration for it. When I did pick it up again, I read it through and was honestly appalled at the quality of the work. It was then that I made the decision to put the story on hold and re-write it.

This, then, is the re-written version. I've got somewhat of a plot, and I vaguely know where the story is going. I can't promise that it will be very good – after all, you may not like my style of writing. However, I do think I've improved (although a few years down the road I'll probably look back at it and wonder if I was on crack) and I hope you'll enjoy it.

However, I am most unwilling to lose my reviews. I've got quite a number I am loathe to lose, especially those supporting me after I was flamed. Therefore, I will be uploading these chapters by _replacing_ the previous ones. Note – this fic has almost no correlation to the previous one.

I will be indicating in the story summary how many _revised_ chapters I have uploaded. So, for instance, if the summary reads, at the beginning, "Revised Chapter Two Uploaded," you should read no more than Chapter Two. Read on to Chapter Three and I can guarantee you'll find yourself lost. I promise I'll update the summary as soon as I update the fic, so you needn't worry you'll miss out on any chapter. To old readers – please abandon pre-conceived notions of this fic and read from the beginning again. I'm terribly sorry for the inconvenience, and I do hope these excessively long notes haven't turned you off already. *hands out cyber cookies to those who've made it this far*

That said; please do read through the rest of my notes (especially the pairings) before continuing with the fic, as it does contain some things you should be aware of. Thank you.

_Pairings: Focused on SyaoranxEriol. There will also be Syaoran+Sakura, SakuraxShinji(OC), Tomoyo+Sakura. Also hints of NaokoxShinji(OC), RikaxTerada and ChiharuxYamazaki. For the last, note that I'm going by the Japanese version – they are not cousins. Also do note that some of these pairings will not occur for a while, until we're a few chapters into the story at least – though there is some SyaoranxEriol in this same chapter._

_A/N 2: Please do note that this story will be very much focused on familial relations, as well as romance. Do also note that, as stated previously, the main romance is that between Syaoran and Eriol. This, obviously, means shounen ai. I may, though I doubt it, up it to yaoi later. Highly doubtful, though. The highest this fic will rate is probably a PG-15. If you don't like romance, SyaoranxEriol or yaoi in general, please leave now! You've been warned – don't flame me!_

_Summary: Rejected by his family so that he could be with Sakura, Syaoran is crushed when she too rejects him. Exactly how does he deal with being completely cut off from all he knew and loved? And how does Hiiragizawa Eriol fit into the scheme of things? Syaoran may have more pressing problems to deal with than Eriol, though – problems that if left unresolved might just drive him insane. Although – could Eriol be the answer to these problems?_

_(Damn, that sounds like a soap.)_

**To the Brink of Love**

It was the sort of beautiful autumn day that was most commonly seen in picture books or some poet's overactive imagination. Golden leaves were floating around him gently, the light breeze carrying them along; a silver hue sparkled off the branches as sunlight warmed them. The ground too was warm, but not unpleasantly so – the sun wasn't too strong, but its rays were dazzling – the wind was cooling and gentle – the scene was perfect.

Too bad his life wasn't as perfect, Syaoran reflected wryly, as he lay beneath a cherry tree. This particular tree, standing alone at the edge of the school courtyard, had been struck by lightning during a storm not two months ago. It was dead now, irrevocably so – at least a third of it split away by the sheer viciousness of the blow it had been struck. The rest of it was scheduled to be cut down, lest it collapse of its own accord, and the students had been instructed not to go near it. They all knew how unstable a dead tree could be. It would be a tragedy if the tree were to fall on anyone.

Syaoran didn't really care too much at this point. His brown eyes wandered across the school courtyard, finally settling on a little group some distance away.

She was laughing again at something or the other he had said. Syaoran knew it had to be at something he had said; she never smiled that way for anyone but him. "He," of course, was Akano Shinji, a fairly nondescript student at their school. He wasn't a footballer or anything – on the contrary, he belonged to the school's library. Still, he was fairly good-looking, with dark hair and bright eyes; a tall and slim, but not unduly skinny frame; a handsome face. It was easy to see why any girl might have fallen for him, but Syaoran wondered why Sakura had. He didn't seem the sort of person she would normally have gone for. Was she really taken in by his looks? Or was it truly the person that she loved?

Beside the happy couple, Tomoyo was saying something to Eriol, the two dark heads bent close together. The two had been spending a fair amount of time together, Syaoran noted disinterestedly. Perhaps they would soon get the news that there was one more couple amongst them? No, not likely. Syaoran had seen the sad way Tomoyo sometimes looked at Sakura – especially when she was leaving for a date with Shinji. But that didn't mean Eriol didn't have an interest in her.

Returning his gaze to Sakura and Shinji, Syaoran recalled the time he had thought he had loved her. He hadn't admitted it to himself for days, but finally had sat down and thought it through. At the time, he'd been firmly convinced it was love – and it was. He had called his mother to inform her of his decision to stay in Japan; and cancel his engagement with Meilin. The ensuing fireworks hadn't been pretty.

They didn't even know yet, Syaoran mused thoughtfully. They all thought that he was depressed because Sakura had turned him down. Really – it had been six months. Didn't they think he would have moved on by now? He wondered why no one realised that he was supposed to have left for Hong Kong a long time ago.

That day would certainly not dawn any time soon. Syaoran's mind shied away from that particular train of thought, settling instead on the safer tangent of his new job. He was working behind the counter at the local Starbucks. It didn't earn him a lot of money, but it kept him clothed and fed.

Syaoran frowned momentarily. That wasn't a safe train of thought either. It led back to certain things he'd rather not dwell upon, such as his family. Meilin had understood his decision at least, even if she did think it was the wrong one to make. He had only later realised her rationale. The dark-haired Chinese girl had recognised almost immediately what had taken him two months to realise – that he and Sakura made good friends, but would certainly make poor lovers. They were too unalike – perhaps love might have made things look fresh and clean for them at first, but soon would set in the reality. Sakura was too disorganised – he bordered on being automysophobic. Sakura had a fresh, untainted and constantly positive way of looking at life. While that was in no way bad, Syaoran tended to be moody at best and downright rude at worst. Sakura would have tired of his disposition as quickly as he would have tired of hers.

No, he thought, Sakura wasn't the type of girl he wanted. Truth be told, he was wondering if he even wanted girls anymore. No one he'd seen lately had drawn his attention – no one had had that spark of life in their eyes that had initially drawn him to Sakura. Now that spark was devoted to Shinji, and he saw it no longer. He had missed it at first, but then, philosophically, accepted that they were not meant to be, and moved on.

Except that _they_ thought he was still in mourning, as it were. Syaoran's lips quirked in an almost-smile and he sat up as the bell jangled, signalling the end of their break. Shrugging off any dust he might have acquired on his shirt, he straightened his clothes and hurried off to his classroom.

The courtyard was emptied soon enough, Syaoran being one of the last to leave. As he disappeared around the corner, there was an ominous creak from the old, dead cherry tree. And then, with a resounding crash, a large portion of bark and wood snapped off and slammed into the ground, hitting exactly the spot where Syaoran had just been sitting.

Dark eyes watched from a classroom. A sharp intake of breath was the only indication of surprise. A moment later, the same dark eyes narrowed in what could only be described as anger. Eriol looked up as Syaoran came into the room, exactly on time. He was barely listening as Terada-sensei told Syaoran to take a seat. He did pay attention as Syaoran slid into his usual seat beside him – behind Sakura.

"I'd like to talk to you later," Eriol whispered, leaning over slightly. Despite the polite phrasing, it wasn't a request but a command, and Syaoran raised an eyebrow slightly.

He was probably going to tell him to get over Sakura, Syaoran reflected. A bitter smile creased his face. Lifting his shoulder in a non-committal shrug, he returned his attention to the lesson.

The bell rang again forty minutes later, and Syaoran started packing away his things slowly and methodically. Putting his pens and pencils in his pencil box, he zipped up said item and stowed it away in his bag, along with his math book. Closing the bag, he slung it over his shoulder and stood up, moving to the door where Eriol waited for him, an indescribable look in his dark eyes.

"Hiiragizawa," Syaoran greeted politely, preceding the taller boy out of the classroom. "You wanted to speak to me?"

"Yes," Eriol replied, closing the classroom door behind him. Technically, there were supposed to be three more lessons before they were dismissed for the day – but school was to end early this day because there was a parent-teacher meeting later on in the evening. Preparations had to be made, and proof of this was seen as a janitor bustled by, pushing a trolley of chairs.

"What about?" Syaoran asked as they walked down the hallway. He pushed the doors of the school open and held them for Eriol.

There was a small pause. "You," Eriol said finally. He indicated for Syaoran to follow him. Curiously, an eyebrow arched, Syaoran did so. It was only after a moment that he realised Eriol was leading him back towards the old cherry tree. As they came in view of it, he stopped short, gasping at the sight.

Eriol nodded, stepping back so that he was beside Syaoran, and turning serious eyes on him. "You see?" he asked softly. "And that happened mere moments after you'd left its shade."

Syaoran shook his head slowly. "I…" he began. His voice trailed off as he found himself at a loss for words. He'd brushed death, come amazingly close to it, and hadn't even realised. He shuddered slightly despite the warmth of the day. Eriol noticed and placed a hand on Syaoran's shoulder comfortingly.

Syaoran flinched away from the touch, dropping his eyes to the ground. "I'm sorry," he said finally. He started to walk away, mind reeling. As the shock wore off, however, he couldn't help but wonder if he would have cared very much if the tree had fallen on him. If he had been crushed. It would have been a painful way to die, yes, but would dying have been a bad thing at all?

"Syaoran!" Eriol called, chasing after him. "Wait!" Catching up to the Chinese boy, Eriol continued in a sad voice, "Why is it that you have so little regard for your life, Syaoran?"

Syaoran raised an eyebrow. "There's not very much worth living for in my life, Hiiragizawa."

Eriol sighed. "Sakura's choice to go out with Shinji – it's bothering you, isn't it?" Not waiting for an answer, he ploughed on, "Syaoran, please. You can't mourn over her forever. She has made her choice, and you have to accept it. Can't you try and move on?"

As he had predicted, Syaoran thought mournfully. Didn't they even know him well enough to realise this was far from normal behaviour for him? "Sakura is the least of my problems, Hiiragizawa," he muttered.

Eriol looked at him, a confused expression on his face. "What do you mean?"

Syaoran turned abruptly, going into the park. The top of the huge penguin slide, a town landmark of sorts, was visible off to the side. Syaoran headed for the playground, deserted at this time – most students were still in school, after all.

"Before I realised Sakura liked Shinji," Syaoran began quietly, looking at the swing set. It brought back memories – not painful, not pleasant – just memories. It was as if he was viewing something that had happened to someone else, no feelings or emotions associated with the scenes that played out in his head. "I'd figured out I loved her. You know I was engaged to Meilin. Obviously, the first thing I did was to call my mother and tell her that the engagement was off. That I wanted to stay in Japan with Sakura." He paused, reflecting. "The thought that she might not return the feelings never crossed my mind." There was a slightly bitter tone to his voice as he said, "It was the first time I had ever been in love. To my reasoning, if I loved her, there was no reason for her not to love me back."

"Syaoran…" Eriol whispered, not quite knowing what to say. The brown-haired boy in question moved forward, sitting down on a swing. He started pushing himself lightly, just rocking himself back and forth. Eriol found himself entranced by the slight movement, by the flexing of Syaoran's legs as they moved, by the despondent light in Syaoran's eyes…

"You know," Syaoran said suddenly, looking up with a gleam of amusement in his eyes. They were chocolate coloured now. Eriol had noticed they had a tendency to change colours with his moods – anywhere from a warm brown to a hard, steely amber. "I was wondering how long it would take for one of you to ask me."

Eriol almost blushed. Almost. "We thought you would come to us once you felt better," he admitted candidly, sitting down on the ground before Syaoran. He lay back, gazing up at the sky, sprawled on the floor in an almost sultry manner.

Syaoran reflected that Eriol was really quite beautiful. His features were delicate and gentle; some might have said he looked similar to Shinji, but Syaoran thought he was much more handsome. Though – perhaps handsome wasn't the word for it. Eriol had an almost effeminate beauty about him, about his features and his silken hair of midnight. His body was slim, and yet he carried an undeniable air of masculinity about him. No, Eriol's face may have been slightly effeminate, but he was certainly a male, and a beautiful specimen of one at that. Syaoran preferred not to think about why he thought Eriol to be attractive, though he had an inkling of an idea within his heart.

"In any case," he continued after a pause. "Mother wasn't too taken with the idea. She threatened to disown me. I didn't think she'd do it, so I stuck by what I wanted." Pausing for dramatic effect, Syaoran finished off with, "She disowned me."

Eriol sat up so fast Syaoran thought for a moment that he would get whip-lash. "She what?" he demanded shrilly. He cleared his throat, looking embarrassed at the high-pitched sound. Syaoran gifted him with a small smile.

"She disowned me," he affirmed. "And made it clear I was no longer welcome in the Li clan. She's allowed me to keep my name, until I am legally an adult, and then I am to change it. I have been cut off from my fortune; a cousin will take over the clan's leadership; no one is allowed to communicate with me; if I should ever return to Hong Kong, I am not to seek out any member of the clan; I am not to use any of our ancient magics; I have had to surrender my sword."

Eriol was at a loss for words, not a very common occurrence. "Syaoran," he whispered. Even his soft tenor was attractive, Syaoran was dismayed to note. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Syaoran shrugged. "It wasn't a big deal," he lied.

"It wasn't a big deal?" Eriol repeated incredulously. "Being cut off without a penny to your name wasn't a big deal?"

"It wasn't quite that bad," Syaoran assured him. "I had a few thousand yen with me. The first thing I did was to find a job. The apartment I had been staying in had been funded by Li-san, so of course I couldn't stay there. Soon as I had my job, I found a cheaper place and moved in." He tilted his head to the side. "It's further from school than before, but it was the best I could find, and it isn't bad." He hopped off the swing. "And that about concludes things, Hiiragizawa, so if you would excuse me?"

"Hey, wait," Eriol protested, scrambling up. He brushed himself down, but Syaoran noticed some sand caught in his hair. He reached out and brushed it away gently, tucking a stray lock of hair behind Eriol's ear. He studiously ignored the blush that suddenly rose to Eriol's cheeks and waited expectantly for Eriol to continue.

"Ah, yes," Eriol managed after a moment. "How long have you been living on your own like this?"

"Six months or so," Syaoran answered pleasantly. That was also the time he had stopped feeling, he noted. The time when he'd found himself completely numb and unable to feel emotions of any sort. He wasn't sure it was a good thing, wasn't sure if it was bad, but it didn't seem to be harming him as of yet, so he wouldn't bring it up.

There was a sort of conflict in Eriol's eyes, as if he were trying to decide on something. Then something seemed to click, and Syaoran could almost see him coming to a resolution.

"You know that if you ever need help at any time, or if you want company, or anything else, you can come to me," Eriol said calmly, regaining his air of dignity. "I won't demean you by suggesting you cannot survive on your own, but if you'd like to be friends again…"

"Were we ever friends, Hiiragizawa?" Syaoran asked, raising an eyebrow. Eriol flinched slightly.

"Perhaps we weren't on the best of terms," he acknowledged. "But I would like to properly make your acquaintance now. Maybe we can start over." He held out his hand. "Hiiragizawa Eriol, transfer student from England."

Syaoran took it. "Li Syaoran, transfer student from Hong Kong," he murmured. He looked at Eriol and smiled. "You forgot to mention you're also half the reincarnation of Clow Reed, my ancestor and one of the most powerful magicians ever known."

Eriol tutted. "We're starting over, remember? You don't know that yet."

"But I do," Syaoran countered. "And it's foolish to start over. I'd be happy to be friends with you as we are, Hiiragizawa-san."

Eriol started, and then beamed. "Wonderful!" he exclaimed. "In which case, you must call me Eriol."

"Very well, then, Eriol," Syaoran acknowledged. "And is that all?"

Eriol closed his eyes and smiled. "I suppose it is," he replied.

"Good," Syaoran said. He leant close to Eriol's ear and whispered, "You also didn't mention that you're gorgeous."

Eriol's eyes flew open as he felt the hot breath tickling his skin, and only widened even more as he felt a warm tongue brush his ear. "Syaoran!" he started to say, and then realised his descendant had disappeared. He put a hand to his ear, feeling his face grow hot.

He stood there a long time.

_~tsuzuku_


	3. Chapter Three

I forgot to do the disclaimer for the previous chapters, so yeah... CCS does not belong to me. If it did, I wouldn't be writing fanfiction.  
So sue someone else. I'm broke. But Clamp, if you ever consider giving CCS away...  
  
And it seems like begging people to review may be, after all, the best way to get reviews. Or does threatening work? Anyway, if I don't  
get at least 10 GOOD reviews, I'm not going on with this. Just ten... okay, eight. Six? Five?...... -_-;  
  
AND... some reviews by really nice (not) narrow-minded, wonderful (yeah, right) idiotic peopl said that the coupling of Eriol and Li was  
gross. Too bad if you don't like it. There ARE other fics with this pairing as well, you know. If you're a homophobic, get the **** out  
of here. You are NOT wanted. *glares* I want constructive critism about my writing, not about the pairings! So you've been warned.  
You don't like Eriol/Syaoran, GET LOST!!!  
  
AND... BIG shout-out to Emily-chan!!! Thanks for the nice review!! ^-^ Just so you know, Eriol/Syaoran is my fav coupling....  
^___________^  
  
~*~Next Day, At Night~*~  
  
"Tell me again why we're doing this, koi?" grumbled Li as he tightened his necktie.  
  
"Because we don't want the others to suspect. It's not like we're going to fall in love with the girls or whatever. So we might as well go   
along with it. Right?"  
  
"I suppose," sighed Li. Eriol took his hand. "I'll always love you, Xiao-Lang. You'll always be my little wolf. What are you so worried  
about? We'll be together forever."  
  
Li smiled at him teasingly. "Maybe I'm afraid you'll be so captivated by the girl that you'll decide to go straight and leave me." He spoke  
in a jesting tone, but Eriol saw the very real pain underlying his words, and he once more remembered the night Li had tried to kill himself.  
  
"Now, why would I do that when I have the most beautiful person in the world here with me?" asked Eriol, kissing the top of Li's head.  
The doorbell rang.  
  
"That thing has bad timing," Li said sourly.  
  
"Tell me about it. Am I presentable?"  
  
Li looked over Eriol appraisingly. In his dark blue suit, his hair combed back neatly, Eriol was to die for - which Li almost was. "Yup.  
Shall we go?"  
  
"This should be interesting," Eriol muttered darkly as he allowed Li to pull him along.  
  
~*~  
  
"You're both here?" asked Tomoyo in surprise.  
  
"Yeah, Hiiragizawa asked me to help him get ready. He can't even figure out how to do up a tie," Li said mockingly. Eriol grimaced.  
  
"Whatever. Where're the unlucky girls?"  
  
The smile returned to Tomoyo's face. "At the restaurant. Wait till you see them! They're knockouts!" So saying, she grabbed their hands  
and pulled them to the car.  
  
Eriol and Syaoran exchanged looks of despair.  
  
~*~  
  
Tomoyo had abandoned them.  
  
She had stuck them here with two girls they barely knew, and then she had left, giggling her head off.  
  
And strangely enough, Eriol and Syaoran were both enjoying it.  
  
Syaoran snuggled deeper into Eriol's arm from within the safety of the corner booth. From there, they could see if anyone was  
approaching, before they could see the boys. Across from them, Janice was stroking Crystal's hair softly.  
  
The girls hadn't even given the boys a chance, before getting all defensive and saying they only wanted each other. Of course, Eriol and  
Syaoran had been hard-pressed not to laugh their heads off. They had been dreading this so much, and now that they had found out the  
girl's they were supposed to be dating were lesbians, things were so great! It was wonderful being with people who accepted you as   
you were, and didn't judge you on your preferences.  
  
Syaoran bolted upright, hissing at the girls. "Tomoyo's back!"  
  
In an instant, the booth had become impersonal. A distinctly cold air hung about it as Tomoyo came into view. Janice glared at her, then  
at Syaoran. He shrugged, keeping his expression carefully neutral.  
  
Tomoyo's face fell slightly. "So how're things going between you guys?" she asked cheerfully. "Everything okay?"  
  
*Till you showed up,* Syaoran projected to Eriol. They had learned a while ago that Eriol could pick up on Syaoran's thoughts   
amazingly easily, and had worked out a system of communicating via their thoughts. No problem for Eriol, of course, who could easily  
talk to Syaoran any time he wanted to. Syaoran had to concentrate on what he wanted to tell Eriol, and then, according to Eriol, he   
"might as well be screaming in my ear."  
  
Eriol stifled a grin, plastering a cold expression on his face. "Yeah, perfect, Daidouji-san." *Things were perfect before you came back.  
Why'd you bloody hell have to come back?!?*  
  
Syaoran's eyes widened slightly at Eriol's use of a profanity - *Didn't know you had it in you,* - then he covered up a soundless giggle.  
Tomoyo was looking extremely discomfited, what with four glares being directed her way. "Well, I'll - uh - go to the bathroom, and - uh  
- freshen up. You guys were supposed to go to the park after this. Um, are you still up for that?"  
  
Eriol exchanged private smiles with Syaoran, Janice and Crystal. "I guess," Janice said reluctantly, sighing. She took a bite of her pizza.  
Tomoyo ran for the bathroom. The foursome waited till she was safely out of ear-and-eye-shot.  
  
Then they all fell over themselves laughing.  
  
"Why don't we go to the beach now, like we were planning?" Janice suggested, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Eriol grinned broadly.  
"Poor Tomoyo. She'll be looking for us at the park, while we -"  
  
"-Will be lounging around on the beach at the cove," finished Syaoran. Their sentences blended perfectly, causing Crystal to raise an  
eyebrow. "You guys sound so good together," she complimented. Eriol blushed, and Syaoran - let's just say his face was... bright?  
As in, tomato-red bright...  
  
  
  
A/N: O.o No, I don't know why they ended up lesbians. Poor Eriol and Syaoran! I just didn't have the heart to make them sit through  
a torturous 'date' I guess... *sigh* why am I being so soft? But never fear, they shall suffer! ^-^;; *don't kill meeeee!!*  
  
*cheesy show tune starts playing*  
  
And... next time, on the famous soap opera, "To The Brink of Love," Syaoran, Eriol, Crystal and Janice will make their way to the  
beach, prepared to have fun. However, the boys find some people they hadn't bargained for, there...  
  
*sourly* this really is turning out like a soap opera, isn't it? *shudders* never fear, the plot will start appearing soon! ^-^ I think there's a  
plot. Is there a plot? *starts digging* I know it's here somewhere... *groan* 


End file.
